Meet Carron Schmick of Ho’Omaha Huna – Oceanfront Rental

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carron Schmick.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Carron. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My husband and I are CPAs but have always had entrepreneurial spirits. We have owned several businesses over the years including Financial and Accounting, Brokerage, and we even started a children’s play place called BounceU, which ended up being franchised in a variety of cities around the country. Over a decade ago, we began investing in homes in the Phoenix area. We currently own these and rent them out to long-term tenants.

We also love to travel. When we do we usually prefer to stay in vacation rental apartments or homes. So when we were looking for a new business idea, we thought joining in the vacation rental realm would be both fun and potentially profitable. However, we didn’t know where it would be best to have vacation rentals. We looked in Arizona, in Mexico, in California and then we took a vacation to Maui. We knew right away that MAUI is the perfect destination for vacation rentals. The weather is virtually perfect year-round, the people are wonderful, activities are endless and it offers an exotic culture and tropical feel all without ever leaving the US.

So we began our search for a condo on the island of Maui in Hawaii. We found the perfect place on the west side of Maui, right on the ocean. It offers a very private and romantic stay, with gorgeous sunsets every night. The views from the balcony are simply indescribable. We are in love with the place and the neighborhood, and everyone who has stayed there has felt the same. And I absolutely love working with people to plan their vacations and other significant events. It is even more fun than I had hoped it would be.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We have found that owning a business of any kind has its ups and downs and this one hasn’t been any different. We have struggled with the cultural difference between Hawaii and the mainland. Even though they are a part of the US, they do things very differently… they don’t really work with the same urgency that we are used to and the things that we in Arizona are used to running down the street for aren’t always readily available on the island. The physical distance has also made certain things difficult, like daily repairs and maintenance. But we have a wonderful property manager on the island now that helps us to bridge these gaps.

Of course, right now, with the Covid-19 pandemic, the governor of Hawaii has asked that no one travel to the islands for at least 45 days. That has been quite a shock. We have refunded many reservations and don’t plan to have any guests until at least June.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Our Ho’Omaha Huna (which means “peaceful hideaway”) offers a place to stay that is located right on the Pacific Ocean on the island of Maui in Hawaii. It is located near, but not among, the crazy tourist zones on the island, in an area with a local neighborhood vibe… so you feel like you are home while on vacation. We pride ourselves on having excellent communication with our guests before, during and after their trips so that everything is experienced just as they’d expect. We add a lot of little touches with our rental that make it that much more special like beach chairs and umbrellas, snorkel gear, food basics and a comprehensive visitors’ guide to help guests maximize their vacation experience. It is our goal that every person who stays with us would hate to leave and look forward to returning as soon as they can.

What were you like growing up?
I have always been a curious person. Maybe you could say an overachiever. I never wanted to stop learning about new things and people and places. I wouldn’t go so far to say that I was a nerd, but I did always love math and finance. OK, maybe I was a nerd, I definitely found Accounting to be super interesting even as a kid. But I also loved outdoors. In our neighborhood, we played outside all day until our parents called us home for dinner. Bicycling, sports games, climbing on the jungle gyms were all part of our summer days. For organized things, I played soccer and softball and ran track. I still like to run.

We didn’t have much money in our family. My parents both worked, but there was not a lot of extras. I often found myself jealous of people who got to travel and see the rest of the world (I grew up in a suburb of Seattle). As soon as I could afford it, I began to travel with anyone who would travel with me.

Pricing:

• Nightly rates range from $177 to $297 depending on the season

Contact Info:

• Address: Aston Paki Maui
  3601 Lower Honoapiilani Road, #208
  Lahaina, HI 96761
• Website: https://airbnb.com/h/hoomaha-huna-maui
• Phone: 4803896554
• Email: sunfuninmaui@gmail.com
• Instagram: @hoomahahuna
• Facebook: @hoomahahuna

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